Public Policy Solutions said the Tax-Exempt Hospital Transparency Act would crack down on wealthy hospitals that exploit their tax-exempt status and bring transparency to the 340B drug pricing program.
"The Tax-Exempt Hospital Transparency Act would crack down on wealthy hospitals that exploit their tax-exempt status. Americans deserve transparency into programs like 340B, which big hospital execs have long abused to finance luxurious living without delivering for patients," wrote Public Policy Solutions on X.
The proposed legislation would impose some of the first real transparency measures for nonprofit hospitals using the 340B drug pricing program. All 2,984 nonprofit hospitals would be required to report the value of financial assistance provided, the number of financial assistance applications received, granted, and denied, as well as data on patients who received outpatient drugs covered by the 340B discount, compliance costs, and net revenue from the program, according to The Center Square via KTEN.
House Ways and Means Committee Democrats all voted against advancing the bill, echoing claims from the American Hospital Association that additional reporting requirements would be too burdensome. Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal said the bill "piles on duplicative reporting requirements with no clear benefit," adding, "I hear from my hospitals weekly about the strain they are under. The last thing they need is another unfunded reporting mandate," according to The Center Square via KTEN.
A recent report found that in 2022, disproportionate share hospitals earned $44 billion in profit from the 340B program but spent only $18 billion—42 percent of those profits—on charity care. Eighty-five percent of these hospitals earned more in profit than they spent on charity care, according to AIR340B.
Public Policy Solutions is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization led by former White House Domestic Policy Advisor Joe Grogan and former CFPB Chief Communications Officer John "CZ" Czwartacki. The group is dedicated to advancing public policy solutions focused on national security, economic opportunity, and empowering Americans, according to Public Policy Solutions.
